The author is a Forbes contributor. The opinions expressed are those of the writer.

Loading ...

Loading ...

This story appears in the {{article.article.magazine.pretty_date}} issue of {{article.article.magazine.pubName}}. Subscribe

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - MARCH 07: Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks during an Apple product launch event at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts on March 7, 2012 in San Francisco, California. In the first product release following the death of Steve Jobs, Apple Inc. introduced the third version of the iPad and an updated Apple TV. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

I'm a big Apple (AAPL) bull, so I often get asked "what do you think of the job Tim Cook is doing?"

Someone asked me this the other day. I told her I thought he was doing a fabulous job and that Apple was firing on all cylinders with him leading a very capable and deep management team.

Her response: "But you think Apple's still a safe investment? You think I could buy the stock and it will go up still? I mean, he's not Steve Jobs, right?"

To be honest, I don't know how Cook could be doing a better job running Apple. He's not Steve Jobs. But you know what? No one is. And, sadly, no one will ever be again.

Tim Cook can't be Steve Jobs, but he can be the best Tim Cook. From where I stand - and I think it's the consensus view of anyone who watched his recent performance at the D conference in California or who's listened to him on the earnings calls - he's doing a first-rate job of being himself.

No Steve Jobs successor can ever have all the traits that Steve had. But Steve's greatness was such a draw of the outside world that it masked just how good the rest of the team at Apple is.

Phil Schiller, Jony Ive, Bob Mansfield, Scott Forstall, Peter Oppenheimer, Eddy Cue, Cook, and everyone else up and down the line. They all have the collective abilities that Steve brought to the table - and more. I think each and every one of them knows that the outside world thought Apple's secret sauce was all Steve. Without trying to take anything away from his greatness or legacy, I believe each of them is hungry to show that the remaining group at Apple is more than capable of taking this company to the next level.

Tim Cook is a very special leader in that he doesn't appear to feel the weight of false outside expectations that he has to be something which he can never be. He seems infinitely comfortable in his own skin and in the belief that being the best Tim Cook he can possibly be is good enough.